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Rupert Grint who played Ron Weasley in ‘Harry Potter' movies recently shared his views on author J.K. Rowling’s controversial remarks.

Rupert Grint during his interview with The Times shared in the ‘What I’ve Learnt’ series is that he views J.K. Rowling as an ‘auntie’ but does not agree with her views on the trans community. He said, "I don't necessarily agree with everything my auntie says, but she's still my auntie. It's a tricky one."

Author J.K. Rowling since 2018 has continued to attract the controversial limelight because of her comments on the trans community. The people on social media called out J.K. Rowling for spreading transphobic viewpoints. Two years later, the author published an essay titled, ‘J.K. Rowling Writes about Her Reason for Speaking out on Sex and Gender Issues’, where she addressed what critics had labeled her, a TERF (a trans-exclusionary radical feminist) and much more. Rowling had previously stated that changing one’s biological sex threatens her won gender identity.

As a result of the essay and the comments, a few actors from the Harry Potter franchise decided to share their views on the trans community and actor Daniel Radcliffe penned down an essay for The Trevor Project where he mentioned, “trans women are women”. He added, " It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities, and not cause further harm. To all the people who now feel that their experience of the books has been tarnished or diminished, I am deeply sorry for the pain these comments have caused you. I really hope that you don’t entirely lose what was valuable in these stories to you." He also mentioned that even though he is grateful for all the things J.K. Rowling has done for him, he felt like he needed to say something.

Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and J.K. Rowling. Image Source: Radar Online 

Actress Emma Watson did not directly address the author’s comments but she did tweet in support of the trans community. She wrote, "Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are. I and so many other people around the world see you, respect you and love you for who you are."

Eddie Redmayne who has worked with the author on ‘Fantastic Beasts’ also did not agree with her views and said in a statement to Variety, "As someone who has worked with both J.K. Rowling and members of the trans community, I wanted to make it absolutely clear where I stand. I disagree with Jo's comments. Trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. I would never want to speak on behalf of the community but I do know that my dear transgender friends and colleagues are tired of this constant questioning of their identities, which all too often results in violence and abuse. They simply want to live their lives peacefully, and it's time to let them do so."

Rupert Grint also came forward and shared his view via statement and said, "I firmly stand with the trans community and echo the sentiments expressed by many of my peers. Trans women are women. Trans men are men. We should all be entitled to live with love and without judgment."

In his interview with Esquire in March 2021, Rupert stated that he will forever be grateful for what J.K. Rowling had done for his career but he does not agree with her views. He said, "I think that she's extremely talented, and I mean, clearly, her works are genius. But yeah, I think also you can have huge respect for someone and still disagree with things like that." The actor also shared why he felt like he needed to clarify to address the comments, "Sometimes silence is even louder. I felt like I had to because I think it was important too. I mean, I don't want to talk about all that… Generally, I'm not an authority on the subject. Just out of kindness, and just respecting people. I think it's a valuable group that I think needs standing up for."

Rupert Grint shared that he is grateful for all the author has done for his career but he does not agree with her views. Image Source: People

Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, and Daniel Radcliffe recently reunited with the other cast members of ‘Harry Potter franchise to celebrate 20 years of their Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone film during a special HBO Max special titled, Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts. Rupert shared during the special episode, “We’ve watched each other grow up. We grew up together. We’re family. Even though we don’t see each other all the time, yeah. It’s a strong bond that we will always have, and we will always be part of each other’s lives.”

Author J.K. Rowling did not appear in person but in archival footage of her, which was shot in 2019. According to reports, she was offered to be a part of the interview but her team believed that the archival footage was more than adequate for the episode.